Drawer guide rail assembly with releaseably secured bumpers

ABSTRACT

A guide rail assembly is used with a drawer to guide the movement of the drawer into and out of an article of furniture. The assembly has a supporting rail attached to a supporting surface and a pull-out rail attached to the drawer. At least one carriage is positioned between the supporting rail and the pull-out rail, and the supporting rail and the pull-out rail have stops for limiting movement of the pull-out rail and the carriage with respect to the supporting rail. The impact associated with closing the drawer is absorbed and suppressed by releaseably secured bumpers which engage stops controlling each of the drawers during opening and closing. The bumpers may be changed to adjust to drawers or drawer contents of varying weights.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a guide rail assembly for usewith a drawer and, more particularly, to an assembly to guide themovement of the drawer into and out of an article of furniture thatincludes the use of releaseably secured bumpers for controlling andpartially absorbing the impact of the drawer opening and closing.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Slidable drawer opening and closing devices are well known andconventionally utilize supporting and slidably connected guide rails andrail engaging slides to support the drawer within its frame and allowfor openable and closeable movement therein. These devices are usuallymade of hard materials such as plastic which can cause excessive noisewhen the drawer is closed. Some devices have been developed to at leastpartially suppress such noise. Flexible buffers and yieldable stops aresometimes implemented in slide assemblies to soften the impact of thedrawer closing. Sometimes shock absorbers are used to deal with thedrawer closing noise. Even with such improvements, closure noise usuallyis directly related to the force used in the closing exercise and canstill frequently occur unless the individual involved is very sensitiveto the need to carefully and slowly close the drawer and avoid thenoise.

[0005] Thus it is apparent that more controlled and effective drawerclosure noise management is very desirable, and it is to that end thatthe present invention is directed.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention includes a guide rail assembly for use witha drawer to guide the movement of the drawer into and out of an articleof furniture. The assembly is made up of a supporting rail mounted to asupporting surface such as a furniture side wall, a pull-out railattached to the drawer and at least one carriage positioned between thesupporting rail and the pull-out rail. The supporting rail and thepull-out rail have at least one stop for limiting movement of thepull-out rail and carriage with respect to the supporting rail. The atleast one carriage is provided with one or more flexible bumpers toabsorb the impact of drawer opening and closing and control the noiseassociated with that activity. The bumpers are removable and can bechanged in size or capacity to adjust to changes in drawer or drawercontent weight.

[0007] From the foregoing summary, it can be see seen that a primaryobjective of the present invention is to provide a rail guide assemblythat has all of the advantages of prior art devices and more and none ofthe disadvantages.

[0008] Another primary objective of the present invention is to provideguide rail closing assembly that suppresses noise when the drawer onwhich it is mounted is opened or closed.

[0009] Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide arail guide assembly having interchangeable bumpers to reduce noiseassociated with drawer qpening and closure.

[0010] Thus there has been outlined the more important features of theinvention in order that the detailed description that follows may bebetter understood and in order that the present contribution to the artmay be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features ofthe invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form thesubject matter of the claims appended hereto. In that respect, beforeexplaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is tobe understood that the invention is not limited in its arrangement ofthe components set forth in the following description and illustrated inthe drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of beingpracticed and carried out in various ways.

[0011] It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein are for the purpose of description and should not beregarded as limiting in any respect. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the concept upon which this disclosure is based mayreadily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures, methodsand systems for carrying out the several purposes of this development.It is important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentmethods and products resulting therefrom that do not depart from thespirit and scope of the present invention. The application is neitherintended to define the invention, which is measured by its claims, norto limit its scope in any way.

[0012] Thus, the objects of the invention set forth above, along withthe various features of novelty which characterize the invention, arenoted with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part ofthis disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, itsoperating advantages and the specific results obtained by its use,reference should be made to the following detailed specification takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters ofreference designate like parts throughout the several views.

[0013] The drawings are included to provide a further understanding ofthe invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of thisspecification. They illustrate embodiments of the invention and,together with their description, serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a fully opened drawer within aframe simulating an article of furniture incorporating the presentinvention;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of an intermediate rail in thedrawer close position showing the location of two carriages embodyingthe present invention;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the rail shown in FIG. 2 inthe drawer open position showing the location of two carriages embodyingthe present invention;

[0017]FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a carriage embodying thepresent invention showing roller cages, rollers, one releaseably securedbumper in place and one removed;

[0018]FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the carriage shown in FIG.4;

[0019]FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the carriage shown in FIGS.2-5;

[0020]FIG. 7 is an end elevational view of the carriage shown in FIGS.2-6 mounted on the intermediate rail with the bumper engaging a stopformed in the rail; and

[0021]FIG. 8 is an end elevational view of the rails and carriages ofthe guide rail assembly of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0022] Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, drawer10 is positioned within a frame 12 in the open position, the framesimulating a cabinet or chest. A guide rail assembly shown generally as14 includes a supporting rail 16 fastened to a side wall 22, a pull-outrail 18 fastened to the drawer 10, and an intermediate rail 20positioned between supporting rail 16 and pull out rail 18. One or morecarriages 34 are located between pull-out rail 18 and intermediate rail20, and intermediate rail 20 has at least one stop 28 for limitingmovement of pull-out rail 18 and carriage with respect to supportingrail 16.

[0023] The operating arrangement of the rails and carriages is shown inFIG. 8. Supporting rail 16 is attached to cabinet or frame wall 22, andpull-out rail 18 is secured to drawer side 43. Intermediate rail 20 ispositioned between supporting rail 16 and pull-out rail 18. One or morecarriages 34 are positioned between pull-out rail 18 and intermediaterail 20. One or more additional carriages 36 are positioned between theupper horizontal edge of intermediate rail 20 and the lower horizontalend of supporting rail 18.

[0024] Pull-out rail 18 is secured to drawer 10. When drawer 10 isopened, pull-out rail 18 and intermediate rail 20 move outwardly withthe drawer until intermediate rail 20 is about halfway extended outsidethe drawer front opening. Here intermediate rail 20 engages a stop, andpull-out rail 18 then continues outwardly alone until it reaches itsoutermost position. When drawer 10 is closed, pull-out rail 10 movesinwardly alone, then engages intermediate rail 20 and the two rails moveon together until engaging supporting rail 16 to fully close drawer 10.

[0025]FIG. 2 shows the positioning of carriages 34 on intermediate rail20 in the drawer close condition. When the drawer is opened, pull outrail 18 moves outside the drawer and carriages move to the positions onintermediate rail 20 shown in FIG. 3.

[0026] The details of the carriage 34 used in the present guide railassembly are shown in FIGS. 4-7. Carriage 34 is made up of three walls44, 46, 48 that form a U-shaped member shown generally as 50. At leastone of the walls have one or more roller cages 52 formed therein andeach cage houses one roller 54. At least one of walls 44, 46, 48 carryone or more releaseably secured resilient bumpers.

[0027] The preferred structure of carriage 34 is shown in FIG. 5 whereineach wall 44, 46, 48 has two roller cages 52 with each cage supportingone roller 54. The connecting wall 46 cooperatively receives bumpers 56,58 in appropriately designed recesses 60, 62. One bumper 56 ispositioned in recess 60 on one edge 64 of wall 46, and the other bumper58 is positioned in recess 62 on the other edge 66 of wall 46.

[0028] A cross sectional view of carriage 34 mounted on intermediaterail 20 is shown in FIG. 7. Walls 44, 46, 48 wrap snugly around threesides of intermediate rail 20 so that the rail-engaging rollers rollsmoothly on the three surfaces of rail 20 and provide even andunwavering drawer movement.

[0029] The present invention is usually applied to each side of a drawerso that two units like that described are required for each drawer.However, a single unit of the present invention may be adapted for useon a single drawer, the unit being positioned midway of the drawer frontand adjacent the lower part of the frame or cabinet.

[0030] From the proceeding description, it can be seen that a guide railassembly has been provided that will posses all the advantages of priorart devices and offer additional advantages not heretofore achievable.With respect to the foregoing invention, the optimum dimensionalrelationship to the parts of the invention including variations in size,materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, use andassembly are deemed readily apparent to those skilled in the art, andall equivalent relationships illustrated in the drawings and describedin the specification are intended to be encompassed herein.

[0031] The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, and it is not desired tolimit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed. All suitable modifications and equivalents that fall withinthe scope of the appended claims are deemed within the present inventiveconcept.

[0032] What is claimed is:

1. A guide rail assembly for use on a drawer slide to guide movement ofthe drawer into and out of a furniture article comprising: a supportingrail mounted to a furniture side wall; a pull out rail secured to thedrawer; at least one carriage positioned between the supporting rail andthe pull out rail; the pull out rail and the supporting rail each havingat least one stop for limiting movement of the pull out rail and the atleast one carriage with respect to the supporting rail; and the at leastone carriage having three walls forming a U-shaped member, at least oneof the walls having one or more roller cages formed therein and one ormore releaseably secured resilient bumpers carried thereby.
 2. Theassembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the at least one carriage has atleast one forwardly projecting bumper and at least one rearwardlyprojecting bumper.
 3. The assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein each ofthe walls have a plurality of roller cages formed therein and one ormore releaseably secured resilient bumpers carried thereby.
 4. Theassembly as claimed in claim 1 further comprising: an intermediate railmounted between the supporting rail and the pull out rail, theintermediate rail having stops and the at least one carriage includes afirst carriage provided between the supporting rail and the pull outrail and a second carriage provided between the intermediate rail andthe pull out rail, each of the first and second carriages having atleast one buffer.
 5. The assembly as claimed in claim 4 furthercomprising: a third carriage provided between the intermediate rail andthe pull out rail.
 6. The assembly as claimed in claim 5 wherein thethird carriage is held between the stop of the intermediate rail and thestop of the pull out rail when the pull out rail is in forward positionthereof.
 7. The assembly as claimed in claim 5 wherein the secondcarriage has at least one bumper at the forward edge of one wall and atleast one bumper at the rearward edge of one wall.
 8. The assembly asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the resilient bumper is rubber.
 9. Theassembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the resilient bumper is softplastic.
 10. The assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein each wall of theU-shaped member has two roller cages and a single roller in each rollercage.
 11. The assembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein the resilientbumper is rubber.
 12. The assembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein theresilient bumper is soft plastic.
 13. The assembly as claimed in claim 8wherein each wall of the U-shaped member has two roller cages and asingle roller in each roller cage.
 14. The assembly as claimed in claim13 wherein the forward edge of one wall has at least one bumper.